TY - JOUR
T1 - Immobilization of Proteins of Cell Extract to Hydrogel Networks Enhances the Longevity of Cell-Free Protein Synthesis and Supports Gene Networks
AU - Ouyang, Xiaofei
AU - Zhou, Xiaoyu
AU - Lai, Sze Nga
AU - Liu, Qi
AU - Zheng, Bo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©
PY - 2021/4/16
Y1 - 2021/4/16
N2 - Herein, we constructed a new type of hydrogel based artificial cells supporting long-lived protein synthesis, post-translational modification, and gene networks. We constructed the artificial cells by immobilizing the transcription and translation system from E. coli cytoplasmic extract onto the polyacrylamide hydrogel. With the continuous supply of energy and nutrition, the artificial cells were capable of stable protein expression for at least 30 days. Functional proteins which were difficult to produce in vivo, including colicin E1 and urokinase, were synthesized in the artificial cells with high bioactivity. Furthermore, we constructed a sigma factor based genetic oscillator in the artificial cells. The artificial cells not only provide a powerful platform for continuous protein synthesis and convenient design and testing of genetic networks, but also hold great promise for the development of metabolic engineering, drug delivery, and biosensors.
AB - Herein, we constructed a new type of hydrogel based artificial cells supporting long-lived protein synthesis, post-translational modification, and gene networks. We constructed the artificial cells by immobilizing the transcription and translation system from E. coli cytoplasmic extract onto the polyacrylamide hydrogel. With the continuous supply of energy and nutrition, the artificial cells were capable of stable protein expression for at least 30 days. Functional proteins which were difficult to produce in vivo, including colicin E1 and urokinase, were synthesized in the artificial cells with high bioactivity. Furthermore, we constructed a sigma factor based genetic oscillator in the artificial cells. The artificial cells not only provide a powerful platform for continuous protein synthesis and convenient design and testing of genetic networks, but also hold great promise for the development of metabolic engineering, drug delivery, and biosensors.
KW - cell-free gene expression
KW - genetic oscillation
KW - microfluidics
KW - post-translational modifications
KW - synthetic cell
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104899724&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00541
DO - 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00541
M3 - Article
C2 - 33784075
AN - SCOPUS:85104899724
SN - 2161-5063
VL - 10
SP - 749
EP - 755
JO - ACS Synthetic Biology
JF - ACS Synthetic Biology
IS - 4
ER -